By Okoye,Chuks Peter
The Centre for Human Rights Advocacy and Wholesome Society (CEHRAWS) has taken note of the recent media release by Dr. Ebere Uzoukwa, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Abia State on Public Affairs, highlighting Governor Alex Chioma Otti’s ongoing education sector interventions.
We must acknowledge the administration’s commendable resolve to allocate 20 percent of the 2025 state budget to education. This surpasses the UNESCO minimum benchmark of 15–20 percent and signals a bold step toward repositioning education as the foundation of human capital development. The reported 63 ongoing projects across the 17 local government areas, the recruitment of over 5,000 qualified teachers, and the ongoing teacher retraining programmes, all represent positive departures from years of decay and neglect.
However, under both Nigerian and international law, education is not a gesture of goodwill, rather it is a legal right. Section 18 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) obliges government to direct policy toward ensuring “equal and adequate educational opportunities at all levels.” Likewise, the Child’s Rights Act 2003 (Section 15) guarantees every Nigerian child the right to free, compulsory, and universal basic education. At the international level, Nigeria is bound by Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Against this backdrop, education sector reforms must be pursued not only as developmental policy but as a constitutional and statutory duty owed to the people of Abia State.
In line with best practices, we therefore raise the following concerns:
1. Transparency and Accountability: Budgetary promises without open, verifiable expenditure records risk being reduced to political sloganeering. CEHRAWS demands that details of education projects, including procurement processes, contract sums, contractors, and quality assurance reports, be placed in the public domain. Anything less undermines the constitutional principle of accountability enshrined in Section 14(2)(c) of the 1999 Constitution.
2. Equity and Inclusion: A rights-based approach requires deliberate efforts to reach rural children, children with disabilities, and vulnerable groups who are often excluded from mainstream interventions. Anything short of this, amounts to indirect discrimination, contrary to Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution and Nigeria’s obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
3. Quality and Outcomes: While school construction and teacher recruitment are significant, education reforms must be measured by tangible outcomes in literacy, numeracy, and digital competence. CEHRAWS urges the government to institutionalize independent assessments and data-driven monitoring to track improvements across gender, geography, and socio-economic lines.
4. Teacher Welfare and Development: The mass employment of teachers will mean little without sustained welfare, prompt salary payments, and structured professional development. The right to education is hollow if those tasked with delivering it are demoralized or impoverished.
5. Constructive Engagement with Criticism: We caution against dismissing dissenting voices as “blackmail.” In a constitutional democracy, criticism is not subversion; it is a legitimate mechanism of accountability. Government must embrace open dialogue with civil society, parents’ associations, and education unions, in line with the participatory governance principle under Section 14(2)(a) of the Constitution.
OUR CALL FOR INDEPENDENT MONITORING
To strengthen accountability and ensure sustainability, CEHRAWS as a member of the Civil Society Action Coalition on Education for All (CSACEFA), Abia State chapter, calls on the Otti administration to establish an Education Accountability and Monitoring Task Force composed of civil society organizations, parents’ associations, teachers’ union, and independent auditors.
CSACEFA, Nigeria’s largest education coalition with networks across all 36 states and the FCT, has consistently championed inclusive, equitable, and transparent education reforms. Leveraging this platform, CEHRAWS reiterates that Abia must not only invest in schools but also guarantee systems that safeguard accountability, inclusivity, and citizens’ participation.
In conclusion, CEHRAWS applauds the Otti administration’s resolve to breathe life into Abia’s education sector. But we insist that reforms must be sustained within a framework of law, transparency, and rights-based inclusivity. Abia’s children deserve not token gestures but an enduring guarantee of the constitutional right to education; free, qualitative, equitable, and accessible.
Okoye, Chuka Peter Is The Executive Director Of CEHRAWS
